There remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance.  So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?”  Joshua 18:2-3

Some had pressed in straight away.  But some were putting off taking possession.

Why would they do this?  Why not immediately take and receive what God has given?  Fear?  Complacency?  Distraction?  Failure to understand that God has really given such an unfathomable gift?  Or perhaps forgetting Who had given that gift.

Change is hard.  Familiarity is so much more comfortable, even if what we are experiencing is unpleasant.

But God is all about change.  (E.g., Isaiah 42:9-16, Isaiah 43:18-19, 2 Cor. 5:17.)  He changes names.  He moves people around geographically.  He heals diseases.  He joins us in new relationships.  He ushers in new covenants, commits Himself to new promises and fulfills them, and creates whole new days, eras and epochs.

Even if the new is better, promised and fashioned by God himself, we resist.

What determines whether we venture into the new and unfamiliar, or hold back in the familiar?  Perhaps it is our focus.  Do we focus on the gift or the Giver?

If we focus on the gift, we become evaluative.  Is the new better than the old?  And in that comparison, the old always gets a preference, simply because it is known.

We like this evaluative mode because we feel in control.  It feeds our sense of autonomy.  Will we go or will we stay?  We decide.

For analytical thinkers (such as myself) and risk avoiders, this puts us in an information gathering and analysis mode.  Some enjoy or thrive in this process.  Others forsake analysis and go with their gut.  They may love the thrill of risk and the unknown as the risk is swallowed up in perpetual optimism and grand expectations.  Some fret over the downside, known and unknown.  Regardless of one’s temperament, all of these reactions suffer from the “what” overshadowing the “who.”

If we are stepping into what God has promised, the “what” truly does not matter.  We can step forward with enthusiasm and confidence not because of thorough analysis or favorable probabilities but because God has promised, over and over again, that He himself will go before us, and will never leave us nor forsake us.  Because we know God and His character, we know that He gives only good gifts, and that He loves unfathomably and unconditionally.  For that reason, and that reason alone, we can step into the future and what God has promised, with neither fear nor hollow self-based optimism.

⁴³ So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. ⁴⁵ Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.  Joshua 21:43.

Is there a new frontier God has promised and is now opening to you?  Perhaps a new vocation, calling, writing, relationship, ministry, or move?  Something that simultaneously breathes a sense of wonder and anticipation, and also challenges your courage?

If God has spoken a word of promise to you, return to that promise.  Ask Him to fulfill it.  Trust Him to keep His word, and to go before you and with you in your new journey.  Make Him your focus.  And enter in.

“How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?”